Does anyone have any information about the Turbocord Level 2 charger? I have studied the EVSolutions site, but it is hard to understand what this box really do. Is the charger in Solo not good enough? Where i live we already have 240V, so what benefits are with the TL 2?

I´d need a private parking slot in front of my property with its own charging point. But don´t think there´s much chance of getting it. I´ll have to park it in my workshop, which means opening and shutting three sets of double doors to get there (I´ve been looking into getting them electrically operated). If the Solo tilted and was as narrow as a motorbike, it would halve the effort. AND I´ve got 3-phase in the workshop.

(10-14-2016, 08:40 AM)Lotus Wrote: Does anyone have any information about the Turbocord Level 2 charger? I have studied the EVSolutions site, but it is hard to understand what this box really do. Is the charger in Solo not good enough? Where i live we already have 240V, so what benefits are with the TL 2?

Short answer :

A 240V TurboCord will be able to charge your SOLO faster than the 120V cord that is (*probably*) shipped with the SOLO.

LONG answer : The TurboCord is an EVSE : Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (also called EV charging station, electric recharging point, charging point, charge point, etc.); it is not a 'charger'. The 'charger' is inside the vehicle, and it converts AC current into DC current to charge the battery. In other words, the charger comes with the car. The EVSE (such as the TurboCord you inquired about) is a 'safe way' to connect the house AC socket to the car's J1772 input socket. The EVSE that comes with the SOLO will probably plug into a 120V socket. An EVSE that plugs into 240V would be able to charge the vehicle more quickly.

The on-board charger in any EV has a maximum charge rate, generally less than 8 kW (Teslas are the exception). For example, a Chevy Spark will charge at a max rate of 3.3kW no matter how much total power is available. I believe that the Solo's charger has a max rate of about 6.6kW. The amount of electricity available for charging the battery is limited not only by the max rate of the charger in the car, but also by how much can be safely provided from your wall. An EVSE which plugs into an existing wall socket will be limited by the voltage and current (Amps) available at the socket, which is determined by the circuit breaker protecting the circuit (and, hopefully, not the wiring in the wall). An EVSE which pulls power at 12A at 120V will provide a max of 1.44kW (but in reality, probably a little less). 240V at 16A will provide a max of 3.8 kW ; 240V@30A = max of 7.2kW.

So, in deciding which EVSE to buy for home charging (if not simply sticking with the slower 120V charger provided with the vehicle), you need to look at how much power your EV can pull, AND how much your house wiring can supply. You said you have 240V available, but you may not have the right kind of socket to match the EVSE (they vary, you really need to know which socket you have before you buy). Converter cables are available. You also need to know what size circuit breaker is protecting the line you wish to use. If you buy an EVSE that pulls more than the circuit can support, you'll just pop the circuit breaker all the time (if you're lucky - if unlucky, the wiring will melt and/or set the house on fire). If you want to plug in a 30Amp EVSE, you should have a 40A (or larger) circuit breaker (and the proper wiring - don't just put in a larger circuit breaker!). Electric dryer sockets in U.S. garages are often by 30A fuses.

You might want to just stick with the EVSE/cord that comes with the SOLO (I am assuming that the vehicle comes with one). An overnight charge at 120V should be just fine to charge the battery, unless you plan on back-to-back days of 100 mile trips. The SOLO will have a standard J1772 socket, so it can charge at any 6.6kW public charging station in about 3 hours from empty.

The supposed advantage of the 'TurboCord dual' EVSE is that it will plug into either a 120V or 240V socket (IF the right 240V socket is available). If a NEMA 6-20 socket is available, you will be able to charge the vehicle about 3x faster than on 120V. But honestly, I haven't seen many 6-20 sockets installed in homes - you might have one available in a light industrial setting (or if one was installed at home specifically for a 3kW charging station).

The level-2 standard is world-wide, BUT ... it allows for a different plug between the U.S. and Europe! (the on-wire protocols are the same, just the plug is different). I assume EM is all over this, and will ship European models with the proper plug (which would be at 220-240V).

Here's the information on charging cord systems.
The Solo does not come with any charging cord system.

So if you want to charge at home, you'll have to either...
Buy a portable charging cord system like the TurboCord...
And make sure you have the proper outlet(s) available...
Or install a fixed charging station.

I was also told that the $500 TurboCord can use both 240v and 120v.

Since most of us have a few months to decide what we'll do for charging...
This would be a good time to research different options available in the marketplace...
And to also continue our discussion and sharing of that information.